Coturri Albarello 2001

Served With: Pasta with Red Sauce

Five Things: intense, dusty, chocolate, deep, terroir

COO: Sonoma County, California

Notes: San Marzano tomatoes from Italy have an almost mythical wine-like terroir status in the culinary world due to the volcanic soil in the region. Tony Coturri's wines have that same ability to transport you to a specific place and time, in this instance, Sonoma Valley, California, 2001.

Website: Coturri Winery

Rating: Very Good

Tags: coturri, albarello, 2001, sonoma, california

Coturri Chardonnay 2007

Served With: Picatta

Five Things: deep golden color, meyer lemon, balanced acidity, sandalwood incense, unfiltered

COO: Sonoma Mountain, California

Notes: This unfiltered wine is not your typical California Chard, and I mean that in the best possible way. So pairing it with a dish full of lemons and capers -- which can be treacherous to lesser wines -- could have been a problem. But, it was one of the most synergistic pairings I've ever had, each bite and sip in harmony. That doesn't happen very often...

Website: Coturri Winery

Rating: Delicious

Tags: coturri, chardonnay, 2007, california, sonoma

Coturri Founder's Series Zinfandel 2005

Served With: BBQ with a Calimyrna Fig & Balsamic Reduction Sauce

Five Things: deep purple (the color and the band), earth, white pepper, long finish, intense berry

COO: Sonoma, California

Notes: Pulled this one from the cellar for this match-up, and was not disappointed the result. Coturri wines are in a completely different universe, so the unusual fig barbecue-style sauce on the grill made perfect sense with this powerful unfiltered, unfined Zin.

Website: Coturri Winery

Rating: Very Good

Tags: coturri, sonoma, california, zinfandel, 2005